Local African talent to battle it out at CHAN tourney

Despite the Brave Warriors missing a chance to participate in the 2016 African Nations Championships (CHAN) football tourney in Rwanda, football fanatics can expect exciting football action from 16 January to 7 February. Now in its fourth edition, the biennial tournament strictly open for players based on the continent and plying their trade in their national championship/league is poised to become the fertile ground to unearth the raw talent currently being sought after by clubs all over the world during this January’s transfer window. In a bid to bolster their squads for the title run-in, scouts are currently at their busiest scouring the continent for new signings and are expected to frequent Rwanda from January 16 when the tournament kicks off. There will certainly be plenty of talent to choose from with a total of 16 qualified nations including Rwanda, Angola, Morocco, Ethiopia, DRC, Nigeria, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Gabon, Cameroon, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mali, Niger and Guinea gearing up to go head-to-head in 32 matches. The first clash will see the host nation, Rwanda, take on Ivory Coast at 14:45 CAT, followed by the Gabon vs Morocco match at 17:45 CAT on 16 January. Football fans can also look forward to more exciting match fixtures including; Nigeria vs Niger on the 18th January at 17:45 CAT; Zimbabwe vs Zambia on the 19th January at 14:45 CAT and Mali vs Uganda at 17:45 on the same day. One of the most anticipated games of the tournament is undoubtedly the ‘Battle of the Eagles’ between Nigeria’s home-based Super Eagles and Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles on 22 January at 14:15 CAT.